MPs from opposition parties celebrated the February 21 Mother Tongue Day in yesterday’s parliamentary session with messages in Kurdish and in the languages of minorities in Turkey.

The words in languages other than Turkish were recorded as “x” in the minutes of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).

On the occasion of the Mother Tongue Day, some opposition MPs gave celebration messages in various languages spoken in Turkey. AKP and MHP MPs lashed out at them, saying, “Is this United Nations or what?”, “Those are not languages.”

MPs from opposition parties celebrated the February 21 Mother Tongue Day
in yesterday’s parliamentary session with messages in Kurdish and in the
languages of minorities in Turkey.

The words in languages other than Turkish were recorded as “x”
in the minutes of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).

Some MPs from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its
ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) lashed out at MPs who talked in
minorities’ languages, saying, “Is this United Nations or what?”,
“They cannot be called languages, they are dialects, dialects!”,
“If it is banned, why are you speaking in it?”

All the non-Turkish words they said was recorded in the parliament minutes
as “x”.

“It is not a language, it is a dialect, a dialect!”

Here are some quotes from the minute:

Mehmet Bekaroğlu (CHP): “…”(x)

Baki Şimşek (MHP): Mr. Speaker, we can’t understand.

Mehmet Bekaroğlu: Hello friends. (Applauds from the stands of CHP and
HDP). I spoke in Laz language, my dear friends. I also saluted you in some
disappearing languages as well. This is the Mother Tongue Day, my dear friends.

There are currently 36 known languages spoken in Turkey. More than half
of them, 20 of them, which are spoken by few, are slowly disappearing my dear
friends.

Mustafa Hidayet Vahapoğlu (MHP): They cannot be called
“languages”, they are dialects, dialects!

“Is this United Nations Assembly or what?”

Garo Paylan (HDP): Mr. Speaker, this the World International Mother
Tongue Day. Unfortunately, our Assembly does not take measures to make mother
tongues live. Western Armenian, which is also my mother tongue, is in the
UNESCO’s list of disappearing languages. Today, I want to give my message in
the disappearing Western Armenian. “…”(x)

Baki Şimşek (MHP): Mr. Speaker, is this United Nations Assembly or what?